Fabric clip

ABSTRACT

A fabric clip that is particularly adapted to hang and display garments on a hanger. The fabric clip comprises a looped resilient member having an opening formed in the loop. A pair of flared legs converge at the opening, and aid in the insertion of the fabric into the loop. The loop can then be hung from a hanger by a hook formed at the top thereof. In this way, a pair of hooks can be secured on a hanger and a garment can be suspended from the looped portion of the clip.

United States Patent [151 3,691 596 9 Ulansey [45] Sept 19, 1972 FABRIC CLIP 2,779,076 l/l957 Schenck ..24/l37 R 72v Inventor, J dson m RD 2,885,758 5/1959 Russo et al ..24/255 or x Duoylestowm Pa 22 31 3 2,888,725 6/1959 Cudd ..24/84 H [22] Fil d; J 13, 197 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [21 l 10 0 138,687 9/1950 Australia ..24/l37 R Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin Attorney-Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein & Cohen n [58] Field of Search....223/96; 24/84 B, 255 A, 255 [57] ABSTRACT GP,24 255 7, 84 I-I,

GC 13 A 84 84 R 137 R A fabric clip that IS particularly adapted to hang and [56] References Cited display garments on a hanger. The fabric clip comprises a looped resilient member having an opening UNITED STATES PATENTS firmed in the lolopaA pgir of flared kggs1 cpng'erge at t e opening, an ar int e insertion o t e a ric into g $633 13 137 R the loop. The loop can then be hung from a hanger by 1 1 ms l 55 A UX a hook formed at the top thereof. In this way, a pair of g l 2, 2 Sprague "24/255 GP X hooks can be secured on a hanger and a garment can g'slg gg s t t' g be suspended from the looped portion of the clip.

, erne e 3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDsEP 19 I972 v I Mm/me Juosom T. ULA'NSEY FABRIC CLIP This invention relates to a fabric clip, and more particularly, to a fabric clip that is adapted to support and display garments on a hanger.

Various specialty hangers are in use for the displaying and hanging of garments. One such hanger includes a .pair of spring clips which are adapted to support a pair of pants or a skirt by the waistband. Other specialty hangers include metal clamps that pierce a skirt in order to support the same.

Although these specialty hangers are effective in carrying out their intended function of supporting a garment, they do suffer from a number of disadvantages. One of these disadvantages is that they are relatively expensive, as compared to wire hangers. Additionally, the metal clamps or clips of the hanger can pierce the fabric of the garment, thereby placing an imperfection in the garment.

The fabric clip of this invention overcomes the disadvantages of the specialty garment hangers of the prior art, while at the same time providing attractive and adequate support for the garments. The fabric clips of this invention are adapted for use on all types of existing hangers, such as wire, wood or plastic hangers. The clips are inexpensive to produce, and may be given to the customer in order to permit the customer to use them at home in connection with the hanging of the garments.

Another feature of the clips of this invention is that they can be used not only with garments, but also with the hanging and displaying of other items such as sheets of fabric, small rugs and art work.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provid a novel fabric clip. 1

It is another object of this invention to provide a fabric clip that is adapted to support and display garments on a hanger.

These and other objects of this invention are accom- 'plished by providing a fabric clip comprising a loop formed of resilient material, said loop having a slot formed therein, and a pair of convergent legs formed on said loop at said slot, said legs being adapted to resiliently hold a fabric at said slot with a portion of said fabric being received in said loop.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the follow ing detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fabric clip embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a skirt being supported on a wire hanger by two fabric clips embodying the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial elevational view taken in the-area 3 of FIG. 2;

. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional exploded view showing the method of securing a fabric clip embodying the I Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, a fabric clip embodying the present invention is generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1. Device 10 basically comprises a substantially circular loop 12 having a slot 14 formed at the bottom thereof, and a pair of flared legs 16 which converge at slot 14.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 4, legs 16 and loop 12 are unitary. A hook 18 having a slot 20 is also unitarily formed on the top outer surface of loop 12.

The fabric clip 10 of this invention is adapted to be used with any hanger that includes a horizontal portion from which the clip can be suspended. By way of example, as seen in FIG. 2, two clips 10 can be used with a wire hanger 22 that includes an upper hook 24 and a horizontal rod 26. As seen in FIG. 2, the clips 10 are used to suspend a skirt 28 from the hanger 22.

The method of using the clips 10 is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. As seen in FIG. 5, the horizontal rod 26 of the hanger is inserted into hook 18 by passing the rod through slot 20 in the direction of arrow 30. The width of the slot 20 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the rod 26. Since fabric clip 10 is formed from a resilient material, which is preferably plastic, the rod 26 can be forced into hook 18 by pressure against the lip of the hook as the rod passes through the slot 20. Additionally, the inside diameter of the circular portion 32 of hook 18 is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the horizontal rod 26. In this way, the hooks 18 will frictionally grip the horizontal rod 26. Accordingly, the hooks can be slid to any set position on the rod 26, and once placed in this position, they will remain in the position because of the plastic memory of the resilient clip 10.

After a pair of clips 10 has been placed on the rod 26 of the hanger 22, the skirt 28 is inserted in the clips. This is accomplished by inserting the waistband of the skirt between legs 16 which flare outwardly from loop 12 at slot 14. The forcing of the skirt waistband between the legs spreads the legs and the slot 14, thereby permitting the insertion of the waistband into the loop 12. The resilient nature of the plastic from which the clip 10 is made causes the loop 12 and legs 16 to securely clamp the skirt in the area of slot 14. It has been found that two clips 10 will securely hold the skirt 28 in the position shown in FIG. 2. When it is desired to remove the skirt 28 from the hanger 22, the skirt is merely pulled downwardly, thereby freeing the skirt from the fabric clip. The contour of the inside of loop 12 facilitates the ready removal of the skirt when it is desired to remove the same. However, when no downward pressure is applied against the skirt, the plastic memory of the loop will securely hold the skirt in place.

A first modification of the fabric clip of this invention is generally shown at 34 in FIG. 6. Device 34 basically comprises a circular loop 12, a slot 14 and a pair of flared legs 16. A lip 36 is integrally formed on the inside surface of the top of loop 12, and depends therefromi Lip 36 includes a substantially circular slot 38 formed therein, which slot is open at its bottom. Slot 38 has an inside diameter which is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the rod. 26 of the hanger on which theclip 34 will be used.

Clip 34 functions in substantially the same manner as clip 10. The clip is used by inserting the rod 26 of a hanger through slot 14 by passing the rod through legs 16. Here again, the resilient nature of the plastic from which the device 34 is formed permits the ready spreading of the loop 12 in the area of slot 14. Thereafter, the rod 26 is inserted in slot 38 through the opening at the base of the slot. The diameter of slot 38 is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of rod 26, and accordingly the lip 36 resiliently grasps the rod and is frictionally held thereon.

Once the fabric clips 34 are secured on the rod 26 in the manner described above, a skirt or other garment can then be mounted on the fabric clips by inserting the same through the legs 16 and through slot 14 into loop 12. In this way, the skirt will be suspended from the hanger 22, and can be removed by pulling it vertically downwardly thereby again opening the slot 14 in loop 12.

A second modification of the fabric clip of this invention is generally shown at 40 in FIG. 7. Device 40 is similar to device 34 in that it comprises a circular loop 12 having a slot 14 and legs 16 flaring outwardly from the slot. The device further includes an inwardly projecting lip 36 having an open slot 38 formed therein. The distinction residing in fabric clip 40 is the provision of a pair of ears 42 which project obliquely upward from the top surface of loop 12.

Device 40 functions in substantially the same manner as device 34. Thus, initially the rod 26 of a hanger 22 is passed through slot 14. However, in device 40, the slot 14 is opened by squeezing ears 42 toward each other, in the direction of arrows 44. This causes the spreading of legs 16, in the direction of arrows 46, thereby opening the slot 14. Once the rod 26 is within loop 12, it is then inserted in slot 38, thereby frictionally placing the clip 40 on the hanger. When it is desired to insert a skirt or other garment in the clip 40, the ears 42 are depressed in the direction of arrows 44, thereby opening slot 14, and permitting the insertion of the skirt. When the pressure on the ears is released, the device 40 is again returned to the position shown in FIG. 7, thereby securely clamping the skirt or other garment within the loop 12, in the same manner as is shown with respect to device 10.

The various embodiments of the fabric clip of this invention can be formed from any resilient material, such as plastic, rubber or spring metal. Preferred materials are plastics because of the ease of manufacture, economy and cost of material and appearance. Thus, when a plastic is used, it can be transparent, white or pigmented in various colors to have the clips harmonize with the materials they will be holding. Additionally, the plastics possess a plastic memory which makes them ideally suited for the carrying out of this invention. Plastics that can be used are high impact styrene, acetal resins, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or polypropylene.

Although the device of this invention has been shown as being used with a skirt, it can be used to support and display other garments, such as pants, shirts, etc. It can also be used for displaying fabric samples or samples of carpeting. It also has use in displaying various forms of art work, such as paintings or prints.

Although in all embodiments of the invention that are shown, the loop is circular, it is to be understood that other shapes are utilizable for the loop in carrying out this invention. Thus, the loop can be oblong, square, rectangular or free-form.

It is thus seen that in all embodiments of the device of this invention there are no pointed parts that will pierce the fabric of the material they are supporting. The material will only contact the fabric clip along the smooth areuate edge formed at the slot 14. There are no piercing metal parts and there are no springs forcing metal into the fabric, thereby leaving permanent impressions in the fabric or other items supported by the fabric clip.

The fabric clip of this invention can be made from any of the methods known to the art. In the preferred embodiment, which is made of plastic, the fabric clip is formed by an injection molding process. Alternatively, the clip can be formed by cutting sections from a continuous extrusion.

The fabric clip of this invention is utilizable not only on a wire hanger, as shown in FIG. 2, but also with any other hangers that include a horizontal section to which the clip can be secured. The hangers can be made from wood, metal or plastic. The size of the hook 18 or the slot 38 can be varied to adapt the clip for use on different size hanger rods.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention, that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.

What is claimed as the invention is:

l. A fabric clip comprising a plastic loop, said loop having a slot formed therein, means projecting from said loop, said projecting means being adapted to mount said loop on a hanger, a pair of convergent legs formed on said loop at said slot, said legs being flared outwardly from said loop at said slot, and depending from said loop, whereby fabric can be inserted into said loop by passing it vertically through said legs and through said slot, with the flare of said legs aiding in the insertion, with the resilient nature of said plastic urging the ends of the loop at said slot toward each other to retain the fabric in place, and means for opening said loop at said slot, said opening means comprising a pair of divergent ears projecting outwardly from the top of said loop, with said slot being formed at the bottom of said loop, whereby said slot may be opened by squeezing said ears toward each other.

2. A fabric clip comprising a loop of resilient material, said loop having a slot formed therein, a pair of convergent legs formed on said loop at said slot, said clip being adapted to resiliently hold a fabric within said loop by passing said fabric through said slot and receiving said fabric in said loop, and means projecting from said loop, said projecting means being adapted to mount said loop on a hanger, said projecting means comprising a lip projecting inwardly from the top of said loop, said lip having an open slot formed therein, with a portion of said hanger adapted to be received in said slot.

3. The fabric clip of claim 2 wherein said slot has an internal diameter that is smaller than the external diameter of said portion of said hanger whereby said fabric clip will frictionally engage said hanger. 

1. A fabric clip comprising a plastic loop, said loop having a slot formed therein, means projecting from said loop, said projecting means being adapted to mount said loop on a hanger, a pair of convergent legs formed on said loop at said slot, said legs being flared outwardly from said loop at said slot, and depending from said loop, whereby fabric can be inserted into said loop by passing it vertically through said legs and through said slot, with the flare of said legs aiding in the insertion, with the resilient nature of said plastic urging the ends of the loop at said slot toward each other to retain the fabric in place, and means for opening said loop at said slot, said opening means comprising a pair of divergent ears projecting outwardly from the top of said loop, with said slot being formed at the bottom of said loop, whereby said slot may be opened by squeezing said ears toward each other.
 2. A fabric clip comprising a loop of resilient material, said loop having a slot formed therein, a pair of convergent legs formed on said loop at said slot, said clip being adapted to resiliently hold a fabric within said loop by passing said fabric through said slot and receiving said fabric in said loop, and means projecting from said loop, said projecting means being adapted to mount said loop on a hanger, said projecting means comprising a lip projecting inwardly from the top of said loop, said lip having an open slot formed therein, with a portion of said hanger adapted to be received in said slot.
 3. The fabric clip of claim 2 wherein said slot has an internal diameter that is smaller than the external diameter of said portion of said hanger whereby said fabric clip will frictionally engage said hanger. 